Car Stolen In West Orange After Owner Leaves It Running: Police

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Someone recently stole a West Orange resident’s car when the owner left it running, allegedly cursing at him as they drove it away. The vehicle was later recovered in another nearby town, police said.

According to the West Orange Police Department, the theft took place on June 26. The location of the theft wasn’t disclosed in a police investigation report about the incident.

Officers responded to a local home at 5:24 a.m. The victim told them that he left his Subaru Legacy parked across the street in front of his residence, unlocked and running with the keys inside.

The victim went inside his home for five minutes. When he returned, he saw someone driving off with his vehicle and heard what he believed to be a man’s voice yelling “F*** You!”, police said.

The victim said he saw a grey four-door sedan, possibly a Honda, driving in front of his Subaru.

The car had several valuable items inside at the time, including a Samsung phone valued at $700, and a leather wallet with $100 in cash and debit/credit cards.

While officers were still at the scene, the victim was able to geolocate his stolen phone via Google, which showed it to be still turned on and stationary at the intersection of 1st Street and Dickerson Street in Newark.

West Orange police responded to that location and recovered the stolen vehicle, which was towed back to headquarters for processing.

Several cameras are located in the area where the car was found, but some didn’t capture any footage and others are owned by residents who did not reply to police inquiries, authorities said.

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